A school garden has been used as a teaching aid in biological topics since the middle of the nineteenth century. In Slovenia, several primary schools have a school garden, which is often used outside the framework of regular classes. One of the reasons for that is the lack of teaching materials that would help achieve the curriculum’s objectives with the help of cultivating plants in the school garden. Active learning with the help of cultivating plants in the school garden has proved to be highly effective in numerous researches, both in terms of understanding the subject matter and developing social skills and personal growth of the students.
In the master’s thesis, we analysed biological topics from the whole vertical of the curriculums for primary schools and chose the learning objectives where it is possible to use the school garden as a teaching aid. In the process, we focused on the objectives, which relate to cultivating plants. We planted an experimental school garden and practically tested the appropriateness of the selected plants for the use in class.
The result is the calendar of cultivating plants with the title Plants in the school garden (Rastline na šolskem vrtu). The calendar presents 14 botanical species and is intended for teachers as a tool to teach the biological contents. Besides the graphics, the calendar also includes a table, which marks, when we can observe certain plant organs or parts, and suggestions for the use of the plant in class. In the master’s thesis, we expanded the suggestions for the use in class by explanations, thoroughly described the course of cultivating and observing each plant and the whole school garden.
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